Level-winding apparatus



Feb. 5, 1957 R. F. HERR 2,780,421

LEVEL-WINDING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 25, 1952 4 Sheets-Shea: 1

INVENTOR.

RICHHRO E HERR Feb. 5, 1957 Filed Sept. 25, 1 952 Fig.4

R. F. HE'RR LEVEL-WINDING APPARATUS.

4 Sheets-Sheet 2 II VVENTOR.

RIcHnRo E HERR ZMAA/ 2W Feb. 5, 1957 R. F. HERR 2,780,421

LEVEL-WINDING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 25, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet, s

Feb. 5, 1957 HERR 2,780,421

LEVEL-WINDING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 25, 1952 7 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 "MIN mi? \\\\\\\\\\\\\E INVENTOR. Rrcmmo E HERR United States Patent LEVEL-WINDING APPARATUS Richard F. Herr, Warren, Ohio, assignor, by mesne assignments, to The Herr Equipment Corporation, Warren, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application September 25, 1952, Serial No. 311,492

12 Claims. (Cl. 242-458) My invention relates to level-winding apparatus, more particularly to apparatus for level Winding of tenuous material such as strip and the like, and the principal ob ject of my invention is to provide new and improved apparatus of the character described.

In coiling strip material upon a. reel, it is often desirable to form a coil wider than the width of strip being coiled. In the event such a coil is to be formed, it is necessary to oscillate the strip material back and forth across the face of the reel during the coiling operation.

Apparatus has been used heretofore to level wind strip material back and forth across the face of the reel. Such apparatus has generally. comprised guide means adapted for engagement with the strip material and arranged to be oscillated by means of a cam. However, these prior art mechanisms have not been satisfactory since they did not provide for ready adjustment to vary the amount of oscillation imparted to the strip.

My apparatus provides mechanism whereby adjustment of the amount of oscillation imparted to the strip may be quickly and easily accomplished while the winding operation is in progress. This ease of adjustment of my apparatus is further enhanced by reason of the fact that it occurs in only one direction from a fixed point. These and other advantages will become apparent from a study of the description which follows and from the drawings appended hereto.

In the drawings accompanying this specification and forming a part of this application there is shown, for purpose of illustration, an embodiment which my in vention may assume, and in these drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of reel apparatus embodying my invention, 1

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the apparatus illustrated in Figure 1,

.Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view generally corresponding to the line 3-3 ofFigure 1,

' Figure 4 is a view generally corresponding to the line 4-4 of Figure 3,

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a detail generally corresponding to the line 5-5 of Figure l, and

Figure 6 is a top plan view of the detail illustrated in Figure 5.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, my invention is shown applied to coiling apparatus generally indicated by the numeral 10. This coiling apparatus may take the form shown in my co-pending application for Letters Patent Serial Number 311,491, now Patent Number 2,747,810, or any conventional coiling apparatus may be adapted to advantageously use my invention. Additionally, while my invention is presently employed with coiling apparatus having two reels, it will be apparent that it may also be employed to great advantage in coiling apparatus having only one reel.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the coiling apparatus 10 illustrated therein comprises a casing 11 rotatably sup- 2,780,421 Patented Feb. 5, 1957 ice t porting a pair of spaced-apart winding reels 12, 12.

Each reel 12, 12 is adapted to be rotated by any suitable means (not shown) contained within the casing 11, and each reel is adapted to receive, for coiling purposes, strip material designated by the letter S. While the strip material S is presently fed from above, it will be apparent that such direction of feed is illustrative only and that the strip could be fed from any other direction.

As previously mentioned, each reel 12 is adapted to be driven, for example in the direction of the arrow,

and each is adapted to receive the strip material for coiling in the well-known manner.

As shown in the various drawings, guide means 13 has been provided for guiding the strip material back and forth across the face of a reel so as to level-wind the strip material in even layers. The guide means 13 may best be seen in Figs. 5 and 6, and as shown therein comprises paired rollers 14, 15, each pair being engageable with a respective set of opposed marginal surfaces of the strip.

As will be clear, the rollers 14, 14 are fixed to a member 16 and are spaced-apart a distance sufiicieut to easily pass the strip material, while the rollers 15, 15 are each secured to respective members 17 that are adjustable to provide for varying the spacing between the rolls 15, 15 and to thereby accommodate varying widths of strip.

The guide means 13 is secured to an arm 18 which is adapted to be oscillated by means later to be de', scribed, the arm 18 being pivoted to such oscillating means for a purpose later to appear.

As shown in Fig. 2, the arm 18 is secured by welding or the like to a hub 19 supported by a shaft 20 through bearings 21 and to prevent undesirable oscillation of arm 18, a weight is secured to hub 19, in opposed relation to arm 18, by welding or the like. The shaft 20 is supported for axial movement by bearings 22 and 23 (see Fig. 3) respectively carried by an external wall 24 and an internal wall 25 of the casing 11.

As before mentioned, the shaft 20 is supported for axial movement and is held to such movement by means of a collar 26 which is secured to the shaft 20 and which carries an extending roller 27 that is engageable with a track 28 secured to the wall 25. A coil spring 29 is positioned about the shaft 20 and is disposed between the collar 26 and the bearing 22, and this spring urges the shaft 20 inwardly of the casing.

The innermost end of the shaft 20 has a roller 30 secured thereto and the roller 30 is engageable with an end cam 31 which effects oscillation of the shaft.

The cam 31, in the embodiment illustrated, comprises a back plate 32 to which is secured, by welding or the like, a tubular member 33 having a cam surface 34. As will be clear, the cam surface 34 provides a minimum lift portion 35 and a maximum lift portion 36 connected by intermediate portions.

As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the cam 31 is pivotally secured to a crank 37 that is carried by a shaft 38 rotatably supported by a stand 39. As will be clear, the pin 31a about which the cam 31 is pivoted, is disposed adjacent to maximum lift portion 36 of the cam 31 for a purpose later to be disclosed.

Means are provided for shifting the cam 31 about its pivot and for holding the cam in adjusted relation, such means being generally indicated by the numeral 40. A pair of spaced-apart lugs 41 extend outwardly from the plate 32 of the cam 31, and a commercially available rod-end bearing unit 42 is secured between the lugs 4 by means of a pin 43.

A rod 44 extends axially of the unit 42 and has oneend thereof secured thereto and has itsother end se-- are o. a ba l-b ar ng s i l. uni I r u is connected to a screw 46 by means of a universal joint 47 and the screw 46 is threaded through the wall 24 of he a i 11, as. sho n- Aheadhe 48 u d to the screw 46 to provide for rotation thereof, and a s wed asdr e l; .2 s readed upon h ew 6 t p v e. o -lock n o t e Scre a n ndes rabl tatio e for o nr d s r hifting th am, 3 about its pivot and yet permits the cam to rotate freely with the shaft 38.

Returning to the shaft 3.8 which is supported by the stand 3?, it will be seen that such shaft extends outwardly o a h side of e-stand; and ha a sprock i eem to, the end of the shaft opposite toy that carrying the crank 37. The sprocket 50 engages with a chain 51 and the latter is. adapted to. be driven by a variable speed unit 52 The unit 52 mayv be driven by any suitable means, and as an example the unit 52 may be driven byv the same drive mechanism that is employed in driving the reels 12.

From the foregoing, it will be clear that as the cam 31 is rotated it will effect reciprocating movement of the shaft and of the arm 18 and its attached guide means 13, and. consequently will provide for level-winding of the strip material on the reel. It will also be clear that the effective stroke of the cam 31 may be easily varied at any time by simply rotating the screw 45 so as to cause the cam 31 to shift about its pivot 31a. Thus,

stroke adjustments may be made even during the coiling operation.

An important feature of my invention is the fact that the maximum lift portion 36 of the cam 31 remains unchanged at any position of cam adjustment, and this is accomplished by placing the cam pivot adjacent maximum lift portion 36. This construction provides for the winding of every coil against one face of the reel 12 regardless of the width of the coil being formed.

Operation of my invention is as follows: The strip S is first threaded through the guide means 13 and the end thereof is then secured to one of the reels 12, for example the left-hand reel 12 by any suitable means. The cam 31- may then be adjusted by means of the handwheel 48 to provide the correct stroke for forming a coil of the desired width, and the variable drive unit 52 may be adjusted to provide the correct ratio of rotation between the reel 12 and the cam 31. The means for rotating the left-hand reel 12 and the cam 31 may now be energized and thus coiling of the stripon the reel will commence. As previously mentioned, a feature of the invention is that the cam 31 may be readjusted when indicated without interrupting the coiling operation.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the connection between arm 18 and shaft 20 is such that the arm is shiftable about the shaft. This permits the guide means 13 to follow the strip material regardless of the latters position and thereby eliminates the roll setintroduced in the strip by prior art, non-shiftable guide means.

When a coil of sufiicient size has been built up on the left-hand reel 12 the drive for the coiling apparatus may.

be stopped. The strip may then be severed from the coil and the severed end transferred and secured to the right-hand reel 12. As the strip is transferred from one reel to the other, the guide means 13 will followthe strip to its changed position because of the shiftable action of the arm 18. Rotation of the right-hand reel 12 may now be effected in the direction of the arrow and coiling on this reel mayprocecdin the manner previously described with respect to, the left-hand reel. If desired, the completed coil may be removed from the now stationary left-hand reel 12 so that it will beready to receive the strip when the right-hand reel 12 is filled.

In view of the foregoing it will be apparent to, those skilled in the art that I have accomplished; at least; the P n a bi t o nvnv n icn n it w ll s be p parent to those skilled in the art that the embodiment;

4 herein described may be variously changed and modified, without departing from the spirit of the invention, and that the invention is capable of uses and has advantages not herein specifically described; hence it will be a, preciated that the herein disclosed embodiment is illustrative only, and that my invention is not limited thereto.

I claim:

1. Apparatus. for use in level-winding tenuous material comprising a rotatably supported camshaft, a cam having a pivot connection with said camshaft and being rotaiabie therewith, means having swivel connection with said cam for holding said cam in fixed relation with respect to its pivot connection and for effecting shifting movement of said cam about said pivot connection, said shifting movement providing for variation of the effective lift of said cam, cam follower mean engageable with said cam, means shiftable with said cam follower means and having guiding engagement with said matcrial.

2.. Apparatus for use in level-winding tenuous material comprising a rotatably supported camshaft, a cam having a pivot connection with said camshaft and being rotatable therewith, means secured to a fixed portion of the apparatus and having a swivel connection with said cam. for holding said cam in fixed relation with respect to said pivot connection and for effecting shifting movement of said cam about said pivot connection, said shifting movement providing for variation of the effective lift of said cam, cam follower means engageable with said cam, and means shiftable with said cam follower means and having guiding engagement with said material.

3. Apparatus foruse in level-winding tenuous material comprising a rotatably supported camshaft, an end cam having a pivot connection with said camshaft, and being rotatable therewith, means secured to a fixed portion of the apparatus and having a swivel connection with said cam for holding said cam in fixed relation with respect to said pivot connection and for effecting shifting movement of saidcam about said pivot connection, said shiftingmovement providing for variation of the effective lift of said cam, cam follower means engageable with said cam, means shiftable with said cam follower means and having guiding engagement with said material, and meansv interposed between said cam follower means and said shiftable means and providing for movement of said shiftable means to follow variations in position of said material.

4. Apparatus for use in level-winding tenuous material comprising a rotatably supported camshaft, an end cam rotatable with said camshaft, said end cam being formed to provide a cam surface having minimum and maximum extreme positions, pivot means pivc-tally securing said end cam to said camshaft, said pivot means beingdisposed adjacentone of said extreme-cam. surface positions, means for holding said cam in fixed relation with respect to said pivot meansandfor Qifccting shifting movement of said cam about said pivot means, said shifting movement providing forvariation of} the effective lift-of said. cam, cam followermeans engageable with said cam, and means shiftable with said cam follower means and having guidm ag m t t s idm ter a 5. Apparatus for use in level-winding tenuousmaterial comprising a. rotatably supported camshaft, an end, cam rotatablewith said camshaft, said end cam beingformed to provide a camsurface having minimum andmaximum extreme positions, pivot means pivotally securing said end; cam to said camshaft, said pivot means being disposedadjacentsaidmaximum extreme cam surface position, means secured to afixed portion of the apparatus and having swivelconnection. with said cam for holding said cam in fixedirelation with respect tosaid pivot means and: for effecting shiftingv movement of said cam about said pigotmeansi said" shiftingmovement providing for variatipn ofr the efiective lift of; said cam, cam follower means. engageable with said; cam, and means shiftable comprising a rotatably supported camshaft, a cam rotatable with said camshaft and shiftable transversely of the axis of rotation, cam follower means movable through engagement with said cam, means movable with said cam follower means and having guiding engagement with said material, adjustment means for shifting said cam transversely to vary the effective lift of said cam, and connection means between said adjustment means and said earn, constructed and arranged to provide for adjustment of said cam during its rotation.

7. Apparatus for use in level-winding tenuous material comprising a rotatably supported camshaft, a cam rotatable with said camshaft and having off-center pivot connection therewith, cam follower means shiftable through engagement with said cam, means shiftable with said cam follower means and having guiding engagement with said material, adjustment means to vary the effective lift of said cam, and connection means between said adjustment means and said cam, including means providing for relative rotation therebetween and means for moving said cam about said off-center pivot connection during rotation of said cam.

8. The combination comprising a rotatably supported camshaft, a cam carried by said camshaft and rotatable therewith, pivot means interposed between said cam and said camshaft to provide for relative movement there between, cam follower means engageable with said cam and shiftable thereby, and swivel meansfor holding said cam in fixed relation with respect to said pivot means, said swivel means being selectively shiftable to effect movement of said cam about said pivot means to thereby vary the shifting movement imparted to said cam follower means.

9. The combination comprising a rotatably supported camshaft, a cam carried by said camshaft and rotatable therewith, pivot means interposed between said cam and said camshaft to provide for relative movement therebetween, the axis of said pivot means being disposed at right angles to the axis of said camshaft and said axes being disposed in non-intersecting planes, cam follower means engageable with said cam and shiftable thereby,

and swivel means connected to said cam for holding the latter in fixed relation with respect to said pivot means, said swivel means being selectively shiftable to effect movement of said cam about said pivot means to thereby vary the shifting movement imparted to said cam follower means.

10. The combination comprising a rotatably supported camshaft, a cam carried by said camshaft and rotatable therewith, pivot means interposed between said cam and said camshaft to provide for relative movement therebetween, cam follower means engageable with said cam and shiftable thereby, and swivel means connected to said cam for holding the latter in fixed relation with respect to said pivot means, said swivel means being substantially aligned with the axis of said camshaft and being selectively shiftable to effect movement of said cam about said pivot means to thereby vary the shifting movement imparted to said cam follower means.

11. The combination comprising a rotatably supported camshaft, an end cam tiltably carried by and rotatable with said camshaft, cam follower means engageable with the surface of said cam and shiftable thereby during rotation of said camshaft, and means for tilting said cam relative to said camshaft to displace said cam surface and thls alter the shifting movement imparted to said cam follower means.

12. The combination comprising a rotatably supported camshaft, a cam carried by and rotatable with said camshaft, means providing an axis extending transversely of said camshaft and about which said cam is pivotable, and cam follower means engageable with the surface of said cam and shiftable thereby during rotation of said camshaft, said cam being pivotable about said transversely extending axis to various positions to displace said cam surface and thus vary the stroke imparted to said cam follower means.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,393,286 Hosford Oct. 11, 1921 1,673,887 Selvig June 19, 1928 2,130,520 Bockius et al. Sept. 20, 1938 2,264,424 Winslow Dec. 2, 1941 

